


absorbed in the memories of you and me

by blueviolets



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Love Letters, M/M, Persona 5: The Royal, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29165712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueviolets/pseuds/blueviolets
Summary: It's been a year since Akira destroyed Maruki's reality, only to find letters from an unknown sender at Leblanc.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 1
Kudos: 113





	absorbed in the memories of you and me

_ Dear Akira, _

_ This is a terrible decision, honestly. You’ve probably already forgotten I exist, and I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve hurt so many people… I don’t deserve forgiveness from anyone else. But if I’m really going to be given a second chance at life, then I suppose I’ll use it to maybe forgive myself. _

_ At least, that’s what my therapist suggested. I can only imagine your smile right now. Goro Akechi with a therapist? Almost as silly as a Goro who’s still living, but both are true. She suggested I write out my feelings, but… The only person I felt comfortable enough to share my thoughts with is you. Although, I highly doubt you would actually be reading this right now. Even if I sent these letters to you, would you receive them? Would they be left unread, collecting dust? Or would you even care that you never left my mind?  _

_ I suppose it isn’t something I should worry about right now. I’d like to spend my time right now gaining back my freedom, the life and time I lost because of my choices.  _

_ Sincerely, Goro  _

  
  


It had been a year since Akira last saw Goro. Other than the glimpse of him on his last day in Tokyo, the last time he saw Goro was the day they battled Maruki. He was still doubtful he actually saw the brunet that day when he was on the train, it must have been a hallucination. His mind hoped that Goro was still alive, when deep down he knew he wasn’t.

As his final year of high school was nearing its end, Akira made frequent visits to Shibuya to visit his friends. He had plans to move back into Leblanc once he was done with school in his hometown, and had already been accepted to a college in the city. 

His footsteps felt heavier than usual as he made his way to Leblanc, his mind on autopilot now that he’s gone here hundreds of times. The beginning of February… Just a year ago, he was in Maruki’s false reality with Goro. 

Akira had to hold the tears forming in his eyes back. Anytime he remembered the back of his friend’s head as he walked out the door of Leblanc, Akira felt close to sobbing. Letting him go was the best for everyone, but he desperately wanted to reach out and pull Goro back in his arms. He was grateful for the time he got, but even now he wished for more.

He shook his head at the thought as he found himself in front of Leblanc. The small chime filled his ears as he opened the door, the aroma of Sojiro’s coffee filling Akira’s senses and lifting up his spirits. 

“Hey, kid.” He lifted his head to find Sojiro giving him a smile from behind the counter.

Akira took a seat at the bar, setting his bag on the stool next to him. Morgana immediately popped out of the bag and hopped onto the counter, stretching out. 

“Finally! I’ve been waiting to get a taste of Boss’s food,” the cat yawned. The older man only chuckled as he set a plate of food in front of Mona, the usual routine when Akira comes to visit.

“How are you doing? School going okay?” Sojiro started a cup of coffee while he spoke, but Akira could only nod in response. 

He found his eyes constantly glancing toward the seat to his right, the one Goro chose. Sojiro’s voice became background noise as Akira’s mind focused on the seat, his breath becoming uneven as his mind flooded with memories.

Goro’s smile followed him everywhere. The small smile of triumph from across the table during a game of chess, the smile he hid behind a hand while he held back a genuine laugh, the bittersweet smile Akira could only understand once Goro was actually gone. It haunted and surrounded him as he sat there, the regret of letting Goro go forever stained in Leblanc.

His mind snapped to attention when he heard something from Sojiro, his voice soft and cracked. “What?”

“There’s some mail for you here,” Sojiro repeated. The coffee he was working on was now in front of Akira, the heat still rising out of the cup. The older man reached behind the bar and left a stack of letters on the counter, all of them with Akira’s name on it but no return address. 

“I didn’t think much about them for awhile, I kept getting them here at the cafe but I don’t know who would be sending you letters without leaving their name.”

Akira opened the letter on top of the stack, the first lines capturing his attention. Time froze, and yet he found himself going through each letter quickly as if he didn’t have any time left to read it carefully. 

A whole year of wishing for him came true in just a minute of reading these letters. Each word screamed Goro Akechi, the handwriting unmistakable to someone who knew them all too well. Goro was alive this whole time, and had been writing to  _ him.  _

Before Sojiro could get another word in, Akira rushed out the door with letters still in hand. 

  
  


_ Dear Akira, _

_ I decided to move from the rehabilitation center in my hometown back to my old apartment in Tokyo. It will be a hard feat to manage, but my therapist and myself think it’s time to take these steps as a way to move forward. _

_ I can’t help but hope that you’re still here, but I can’t think of how I could approach you after everything that’s happened. It’s unfair to bump into you on a crowded street, as if we were just strangers or old classmates. I don’t think I could go into Leblanc or the Jazz Jin by myself again. I would only want to return with you by my side. Would you go with me? _

_ I don’t know how I could face you and your friends. It’s been on my mind since the idea of returning to Tokyo came up. I used to think I had no home, until I met you. Will I go back to being such a lost soul, if you refused me? It’s something only to think about if it happened, but I’m trying to be positive for once. Trying to be hopeful. _

_ From, Goro _

Akira could barely breath as he ran. He couldn’t stop. He couldn’t even take the trains, he would be forced to rest and think. Goro was alive, he was here. 

He needed to see Goro, finally reach out and grab his hand like he should have done a year ago. This time, he won’t ever let go.

_ Dear Akira, _

_ I’ve started sending these letters to you. Have you gotten them? I thought it would be weird to send them to Sojiro directly, so I’ve been sending them to the cafe. Maybe this is how we will meet again, but then again maybe you have no idea these letters exist. _

_ It’s hard to settle into my old apartment. I don’t think I can stay here much longer. I’ve started looking at new places, but… I’d hate to be any further than where you know to look for me. _

_ It’s funny, I’m expecting you to look for a dead person. But I know you will. You’re always trying for me, even if I don’t understand why. You could have easily moved on, found someone new to dote over. But I really hope you didn’t.  _

_ It’s selfish, that I want to be the only one you think of. That I can come to Leblanc, holding a letter confessing my love to you and you’ll be there waiting for me. Maybe you’re working part time at the cafe by then and I’ll see you behind the counter, chatting with Morgana like you usually do. And when you see me enter, you smile as if I’m a normal customer. But your eyes light up because it’s me, and I can finally give you a Goro Akechi that’s worth loving in return. _

_ Goro _

He’s panting by the time he’s arrived at Goro’s apartment. Not much has changed since the one or two times he’s been here after Sae gave him the address, but it’s an average apartment complex in the end.

Akira hesitated to knock, worried about what would come afterward. Would Goro still be here? Has he completely missed his chance to see him again?

His hand moved on its own and knocked on the door, holding his breath as he waited for his answer. It didn’t seem like he would have to wait long though when the door slowly opened, and Akira felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore.

“Hello, what do you need—“ Goro froze as he met Akira’s eyes, the two in the same state of shock. He had his brown locks pulled back into a small low ponytail, a few stray hairs falling out to frame his face. His white button up had a few of the top buttons undone, and he held a broom in his free hand. Akira glanced past him to see the apartment in a bit of a frenzy, boxes and items stacked randomly.

It was forever before one of them spoke, their eyes focused on the other as they took it all in. 

“Akira, you…” Goro’s voice trailed off, just above a whisper.

He could barely respond, choosing to dig through his coat pocket instead. Akira pulled out the glove he’s kept by his side for over a year, holding it out to the former detective. “Here.”

“You…” Goro leaned against the doorframe and smirked, setting his broom down before crossing his arms over his chest. “You want the rematch right now? I was expecting something else, but I suppose I could manage.”

“No! No, I… I saved it. I kept it all this time, you…” Akira took a deep breath to calm himself down. “You never once left my mind.”

He reached out to brush his fingers along Goro’s arm, sighing in relief when he could feel the cotton. Akira swallowed hard as they moved up to cup his cheek, the skin warm and soft against his cold fingertips. He was surprised when Goro didn’t flinch under his touch, but instead pressed into the comfort of Akira’s hand.

“That’s more of what I was expecting. It’s cold outside, would you want to come in?” Goro smiled, the same gentle smile Akira longed for the past year. The brunet rested his hand over Akira’s for a moment before taking it carefully, tugging him into the apartment. 

_ Dear Akira, _

_ I’m in love with you. I’m sorry I didn’t say it as much before, but I was scared. Scared of loving someone as precious as you, but also scared of you loving someone as tragic as me. I had too many fears… Shido finding out about you, the fact that we were destined to be enemies, that we met too late in life. But none of these things hold me back anymore, and I can freely say how much I love you. _

_ I hope that when we meet again, your feelings are the same as they always have been. That you’ll welcome me in your arms like you always would, but this time I could actually allow myself to relax into your touch instead of keeping my guard up. Would you be happy that I can do that now? Or did you like that I still had some sort of wall up? I hope you can love me how I am now, accepting how far I’ve come. Thinking of you and how you can do anything is how I was able to get here. _

_ When we do meet again, I promise I’ll tell you how I feel more often. I know we’ll meet, because we have a difficult time being apart from each other for an extended period of time. One of us always finds our way to the other when the time is right, as if fate helps us. Although, you’ve never been the one to accept fate. _

_ Love, Goro _

**Author's Note:**

> i went "oh shit, it's 2/2 tomorrow", had a lot of feelings thinking about it, and then wrote it out to publish today ✌️  
> kind of want to write a post-P5R fic like this but i have a lot of wips.... maybe someday
> 
> follow me on twitter: @bluvioleta


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